In a recent survey of nearly 1,300 Italians that asked whether they thought their pets were overweight, 29 percent agreed that their pet was overweight, according to a report commissioned by Hill's petfood company and the survey conducted by UK-based market research company YouGov.

The survey further found that 26 percent of Italian pet owners said they feed their pet leftovers and snacks. This is compared to previous surveys conducted in the Netherlands and Great Britain, where just 8 percent and 13 percent of pet owners, respectively, fed their pet snacks and leftovers. Overall, it is estimated that overweight and obese pets in Italy could account for up to 95 percent of cats and 63 percent of dogs.

March 2015

The March 2015 issue of Petfood Industry focuses on emerging pet industry trends. Read about NutriFusion, a company that saw immediate growth after expanding from human food into the pet food industry with its fruit and vegetable nutrient-dense products. Also, learn about how so-called "superfoods" are trending as a new pet food ingredient, and why innovation, convenience and sustainability are key in pet food packaging.